Written by Brad Phillips @MrMediaTraining on October 7, 2012 – 12:30 am

I was delighted to join the host of Fairness Radio, Patrick O’Heffernan, for a discussion about the first presidential debate between President Obama and Governor Romney. David Horowitz, a well-known conservative writer, joined in the questioning.

You can listen to the full interview at the link below. My portion begins at the 32-minute mark; you can fast forward directly to that point.

And if you missed my scorecard of the first debate, you can read it here.

Beginning this month, I’ll be making monthly appearances on KFNS radio’s Mind Games: The Psychology of Performance. My regular segment is called “What Were They Thinking?”

The show airs on 590 The Fanin St. Louis, Missouri (and broadcasts worldwide on KFNS.com), and airs every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.

I appeared with hosts Tom Michler and Rob Staggenborg over the weekend to discuss the bad Supreme Court calls made by CNN and Fox News regarding Obamacare. We also touched on Mitt Romney’s curious strategy to avoid being labeled a “flip flopper.”

I joined Hillary Howard and Shawn Anderson on Washington D.C.’s top-rated WTOP this afternoon to discuss the scandal that led Rupert Murdoch to abruptly close his best-selling tabloid newspaper, News of the World.

I know, it’s confusing, but he has nothing to do with this blog. “Mr. Media” is actually a guy from St. Petersburg, Florida named Bob Andelman.

Bob is a terrific radio talk show host. His show can be heard on Blog Talk Radio, YouTube, iTunes, and many other places.

Over the past couple of decades, he’s interviewed everyone from Kirk Douglas and Chris Matthews to John Denver and Billy Bob Thornton. So it’s an honor that he turned his focus to me for his latest interview.

We spoke a couple of days ago via Skype. The first part of our conversation – about Osama Bin Laden, the first Republican debate, and the 2012 election – is below. It was the most fun radio interview I’ve had in a long time.

(Please forgive the slightly choppy video – I’ve already hurled this old webcam out the window and have ordered a better one.)

“It was self-aggrandizing,” said Brad Phillips, a former TV news reporter who now runs his own media relations firm, Phillips Media Relations. “It looked like the king removed himself from the air. He even called it ‘my broadcast.’ As anyone who’s worked in television, television news is a team effort.”

Phillips said NBC should have instead immediately suspended Williams and released a statement noting the seriousness of his actions. Still, he said, the network’s six-month suspension served as a mulligan.

“It reset the entire story,” Phillips said. “It was such a severe and serious action that all of their prior communications kind of went away. The critics got exactly what they wanted and more.”

February 9, 2015 – WTOP-FM: Brad Phillips was interviewed by Washington D.C.’s top-rated WTOP-FM about the controversy swirling around NBC News Anchor Brian Williams. You can listen to the audio below:

Though the idea of that chills me to the bone, Philips Media Training founder Brad Phillips asserts that it’s not unusual. Though print journalists once voluntarily withheld names of victims until next of kin were notified, in the age of the Internet, where photos of a crime scene can be tweeted by passersby long before the first reporters reach the site, there’s no longer a hard and fast consensus around withholding names.

“Would releasing the news on an official channel — even without family notification — help clear up confusion and offer confirmation instead of allowing unconfirmed speculation to fester?” Philips wonders. “And couldn’t it be argued that that would be more respectful of the families?”

These are challenging questions, ones that should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

July 12, 2013 – KGO Radio: Brad Phillips appeared on San Francisco’s KGO radio to discuss the National Transportation Safety Board’s handling of an Asiana Airlines crash landing.

April 14, 2013 – Huffington Post: Brad Phillips was quoted by The Huffington Post in a story called “Media Training for NFL and College Football Players: Sign Us Up!” Here’s an excerpt:

“Brad Phillips, President of Phillips Media Relations and author of The Media Training Bible, has a similarly humanistic approach. He is adamantly opposed to ‘spin and evasion’ and concentrates on helping clients to find their own method of presenting themselves to the public ‘in the best possible way while remaining honest, accountable and transparent.’”

April 3, 2013 – WTOP-FM: I appeared on Washington’s top-rated WTOP radio to discuss NBC’s handling of the Tonight Show transition from Jay Leno to Jimmy Fallon. Audio of the interview is here.

April 2013 – American Journalism Review: I was quoted in the American Journalism Review about a topic mentioned in The Media Training Bible: whether sources should conduct interviews by email. Here’s an excerpt:

“Phillips, a former producer for CNN who founded Phillips Media Relations in New York in 2004, says many of his clients come to him petrified of the press or feeling that at one time or another they have been burned.

He likes to use as a reminder of the importance of his work the lengthy interview Tony Hayward, the head of British Petroleum, granted after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the sound bite the press pistol-whipped him with: “I’d like my life back.”

Some public relations firms, the minority of them, in Phillips’ view, teach clients to answer the question they want to answer, to avoid the question they’d rather not tackle. Phillips says he teaches clients to answer the question that was asked. For him, e-mail is a tool of clarity and precision.”

February 15, 2013 – WTOP-FM: I appeared on Washington’s top-rated WTOP radio to discuss what Carnival Cruises should do to recover from its ill-fated Triumph cruise. Audio of the interview is here.

December 6, 2012 – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Reporter Margaret Harding included me in her article about a recent crisis at the Pittsburgh Zoo:

Brad Phillips, president of New York-based public relations firm Phillips Media Relations, said the decision to remove the observation deck is a smart move by the zoo.

“Whether they remove it because they think it’s an actual danger or merely out of respect for the deep hurt in the community, either way it seems like the right thing to do,” Phillips said.

“But Phillips, the image consultant, said, “I would be very reluctant to write his political obituary at this point.” While the pre-Thanksgiving interview was a good first step, Phillips said, DesJarlais needs to do much more.

“He needs to offer a very detailed and human explanation of how he’s come to change his thinking,” he said. “If they (voters) believe he’s sincerely changed, voters tend to forgive.”

November 27, 2012 – The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Reporter Mike Wereschagin included me in his article about a Pittsburgh Zoo’s controversial decision to send calendars featuring wild dogs that had recently killed a two-year-old at the Zoo to its members:

“They would have gained more appreciation from their members if they’d sent a letter saying that the calendar they printed included (a picture of the dogs) and they decided it would be inappropriate to send it out in light of this month’s tragedy,” said Brad Phillips, president of Phillips Media Relations, a New York public relations firm.”

“Meanwhile, Brad Phillips — president of Phillips Media Relations and founder of the Mr. Media Training blog — can foresee political opponents exploiting the bear-hug in a national campaign, but thinks both the context (the hurricane) and Christie’s communication skills can vindicate him.”

October 31, 2012 – National Post (Canada): Writer Kathryn Blaze Carlson included me in her article about humor in presidential campaigns called “Make ‘em laugh, get their votes.” She wrote:

“Brad Phillips, who prepares politicians for media appearances, argues that since the dawn of the 24-hour news cycle with the launch of CNN in 1980, the most likeable candidate has consistently captured the White House: Mr. Reagan over Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale, George H. W. Bush over Michael Dukakis, Mr. Clinton over the elder Bush and Bob Dole.

‘The more relatable person won every single time, and humour is a key component of likeability,” said Mr. Phillips, head of Phillips Media Relations.’”

October 11, 2012 – The Hill: Writer Niall Stanage included me in his article about the vice presidential debate called “Biden dominates with sharp performance.” He wrote:

“Biden repeatedly laughed at inappropriate moments. He looked a little too angry for his own good at certain moments — and he won the debate,” said Brad Phillips, a media consultant and the author of a widely read blog on media training.

“Congressman Ryan — who was more consistent in tone throughout the debate — too often appeared rehearsed, flat, and junior,” Phillips added.

October 4, 2012 – Fairness Radio: I joined the host of Fairness Radio, Patrick O’Heffernan, for a discussion about the first presidential debate between President Obama and Governor Romney. You can listen to the clip here.

October 2, 2012 – NBCNews.com: Writer Bob Sullivan included me in his article called “Sarcasm campaigning: Social media hones cynical edge in presidential politics.” One of my quotes he featured said:

“Think about the Willie Horton ads (pillorying Michael Dukakis in 1988). So many others,” Phillips said. “If the Internet existed in those campaigns, would they have used online tactics? Of course.”

September 22, 2012 – The Hill: Writer Niall Stanage included me in his article called “Experts offer some pre-debate advice for Romney: ‘Be yourself.’”

“It is certainly later in the day than any candidate would hope,” said Phillips, the media consultant. “But being yourself is still the right thing to do. If you are dealing with all these questions about who you are anyway, why not run toward it?”

“Media consultant and the author of the Mr. Media Training Blog Brad Phillips thinks this is the route to go. ‘He should proudly own his wealth and needs an audience-focused message that convinces voters that his success can directly benefit them,’ he said.”

March 9, 2012 – Yahoo News: Political writer Liz Goodwin quoted me in her piece, called “Why Mitt Romney Can’t Shut Up About His Money:”

“There are ways to overcome the problem. [Harvard social psychologist Daniel] Wegner wrote in the American Psychologist journal last year that the best treatment may be ‘avoiding the avoiding,’ or, in reference to his own experiment, ‘setting free the bears.’

This happens to be the advice of Brad Phillips, a former journalist who is now a media consultant. He wrote not long ago that instead of unconvincingly pretending to be a regular Joe, Romney should embrace his wealth as other candidates, like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have. They’ve argued their wealth means they can’t be bought by special interests. ‘It’s time for Romney to start running as the person he really is: a rich guy,’ Phillips wrote on his blog. ‘Instead of hiding from his wealth, Mr. Romney should start explaining why his wealth will help the American people.’

February 28, 2012 – Politico: Media writer Dylan Byers wrote a story based on my post called, “Why Mitt Romney is in The Worst of Two Worlds.”

February 3, 2012 – WTOP-FM and Forbes Magazine: My story about the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s crisis communications efforts after pulling their support from Planned Parenthood was featured on WTOP-FM, Washington, DC’s top-rated radio station, and in an article on Forbes.com.

“Brad Phillips, president of Phillips Media Relations and and a former journalist at ABC and CNN, notes via Twitter that all politicians ‘have decades of warnings to help them prevent obvious gaffes and predictable coverage.’ That’s especially true for Romney’s ‘disciplined’ campaign.

But Phillips also notes an important historical coincidence: Romney’s father’s bid for the presidency was destroyed by a single quote — in his case, about the “brainwashing” he experienced in Vietnam (see above).

‘You’d think that Mitt Romney, whose father’s campaign was derailed by saying he was ‘brainwashed’ in Vietnam, would know better,’ Phillips writes.”

January 25, 2012 – The Hill: Writer Christian Heinze including me in his article, “Newt Gingrich May Find He’s Unable to Debate His Way to The Oval Office:”

“Brad Phillips, the president of Phillips Media Relations and author of the Mr. Media Training blog, thinks Gingrich’s style won’t play when he’s trying to sell general-election voters on his candidacy — and nowhere will that be more evident than in the debates. ‘Since the beginning of the 24/7 media age in 1980, the sunnier and more optimistic candidate has won all eight general elections,’ Phillips points out.”

“They’ve done some things well, and they’ve done a lot of things poorly. Unfortunately for Penn State, they don’t have the luxury of doing only a few things right,” said Brad Phillips, president of New York-based Phillips Media Relations and author of a crisis communications blog.

“As Brad Phillips, who writes under the nom de blog of “Mr. Media Training,” said yesterday: “Gaffes that reinforce an existing narrative about a candidate are almost always the most harmful ones, and Gov. Romney is already enduring increasing attacks from opponents and Democrats alike for being more of a job “cremator” than job creator during his tenure at Bain Capital.”

January 4, 2012 – The Washington Post: Writer Jennifer Rubin included a quote from my review of the Republican candidates’ speeches following the Iowa caucuses.

December 14, 2011 – WTOP-FM and New York Times.com: Our annual roundup, The Ten Worst Media Disasters of 2011, received a lot of attention again this year. Brad Phillips was interviewed by Washington, DC’s top-rated radio station, WTOP; our story was also mentioned by the NYT.com, Washington Examiner and Political Wire.

July 7, 2011 – WTOP-FM, Washington, DC: WTOP, the Washington area’s highest rated radio station, interviewed me during the evening rush hour regarding the scandal that led Rupert Murdoch to shut down his popular British tabloid newspaper, News of the World. You can listen to the clip here.

“PR executive Brad Phillips…argues that Delta’s initial response to the controversy was incomplete, unhelpful, and basically added fuel to the fire. That’s too bad: this is exactly the kind of story that good crisis management PR could have killed before it got off the ground. Delta later issued a much better, easier-to-read question-and-answer-style statement.”

May 10, 2011 – Mr. Media Radio Show: Bob Andelman, host of Mr. Media Radio (unrelated to this blog) hosted me for three segments on his nationally-airing radio program. Among other things, we discussed Osama Bin Laden’s killing, the first Republican presidential debate, and the 2012 election. You can watch the Skype version here.

“Brad Phillips, a media training expert and author of the Mr. Media Training blog, notes that since the era of 24/7 coverage began, making some laugh while others squirm hasn’t been a recipe for electoral success, since sarcasm tends to further anger those who already disagree with you. That, he says, doesn’t bode well for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) or business mogul Donald Trump, whom Phillips claims border on surly.”

and

“Phillips is impressed by Huckabee’s and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s “natural” sense of humor, but says the rest of the field isn’t “exactly a barrel of laughs.” Indeed, the rest of the field might counter that these political times aren’t for laughing, though if they can’t crack a smile, the joke might be on them.”

“…questions remain about Chrisitie’s image, the role of the newly-created lieutenant governor position and the politics of bad weather. Brad Phillips, blogging at Mr. Media Training:

Christie is right on the facts — he probably was able to do most of his job over the phone. But he’s missing one critical point: None of that matters.

In a crisis, facts alone don’t drive the story line. Optics matter, and Christie’s inaction was a stunning act of political tone deafness. He should have learned from the litany of other recent high-profile optical disasters, such as when: President Bush was photographed looking out from his plane over New Orleans days after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the city; President Obama and Vice President Biden were criticized for playing golf during the BP oil spill; BP CEO Tony Hayward was filmed attending a yacht race as tarballs rushed ashore in Florida.”

December 31, 2010 – Manitowoc, Wisconsin: The Breakfast Club on WCUB AM 980

December 30, 2010 – Denver, Colorado: KRCN’s Business for Breakfast with Woody Vincent. TO LISTEN:Click here, then click on the link for Hour Two on December 30, 2010. Fast forward to about the 42:20 mark.

December 22, 2010 — The Fox News Channel: When the website Mediaite claimed our material as its own on the Fox News Channel without attribution, we requested a correction. Shepard Smith graciously offered the following correction on-the-air during his program Studio B:

“Couple of days ago, we had a segment that aired here on Studio B that listed the top ten media disasters of 2010. Our guest of that day was the Mediaite.com managing editor, Colby Hall. And as we reported, the media disaster list was published on the Mediaite website. What was not reported was that the original source of the content wasn’t Mediaite. Frankly, because I didn’t know that. That was courtesy of Mr. Media Training Blog. So there we go. Cleared up.”

December 22, 2010 — The New York Observer: Coverage of Mediaite’s failure to properly attribute our work on the Fox News Channel.

“Brad Phillips, an alum of ABC News and CNN, has posted an interesting study on his Mr. Media Training site, rating 18 potential Republican challengers to Barack Obama in 2012 based on their effectiveness communicating in front of the camera. It’s a mighty subjective study, based on reviewing video of TV interviews. Rubio earns a solid A, compared to A- for Haley Barbour and Mike Huckabee, B for John Thune, B-for Jeb Bush and C + for Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint.”

December 15, 2010 — Miami New Times:In a story titled, “Marco Rubio Rated Best Potential Republican Presidential Candidate Based on Communication Skills,” Kyle Munzenrieder of the Miami New Times wrote:

“There’s already at least one online moment hoping to draft Marco Rubio to run for President in 2012. Those supporters might not be completely insane. An analysis by former ABC News journalist and media professional Brad Phillips rates Rubio the best communicator of all potential Republican candidates. He got an “A” overall. The only other candidate to receive an “A”? Current President Barrack Obama, well Obama circa October 2008. Yep, Rubio is apparently a better communicator than present-day Obama.”

“President Barack Obama may be an excellent communicator but he faces a serious challenge in that department from incoming U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, argued a prominent communications expert on Wednesday.”

“Maintaining that the best communicator has prevailed in every presidential election since 1980, Brad Phillips released a study Wednesday looking at the communication skills of Obama and 18 possible Republican opponents, including Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush. Phillips, a former journalist with CNN and ABC News, is the founder of Phillips Media Relations, a firm specializing in communications training, and is a prominent blogger.“

December 13, 2010: MediaBistro.com: MediaBistro.com, one of the world’s top 1,000 websites, featured Mr. Media Training in an article yesterday called “Mea Culpa: 5 Tips for Issuing a Public Apology.”

In the article, author Janelle Harris offers five tips for the right way to apologize. The full article is available for subscribers only, but the editors of mediabistro.com were kind enough to let me quote a few lines:

“John Mayer is a case of somebody who did it well. He made these comments in Playboy that were clearly insensitive about African-American women and his lack of attraction to them. He rightly was widely criticized for that,” says Brad Phillips, who pens the Mr. Media Training blog.

“But not only did he apologize, which the public can sometimes take as empty words, he very shortly after that canceled his Twitter account where he had 3.7 million followers, and took a rest from blogging. He said publicly that he was saying things in inappropriate ways, and he shut himself off from being able to do it. So, his apology was quickly followed by action. I think that demonstrated a clear sense of sincerity for the public, and that scandal seems to have passed without his reputation or career suffering greatly from it.”

November 4, 2010 — TexasMonthly.com: Senior Executive Editor Paul Burka used one of my blog stories as the basis for his article called, “Rick Perry vs. The Media.” Below is an excerpt:

“2010 was supposed to be the year that attacking the media — if not ignoring it altogether — was the winning media strategy. It didn’t turn out that way. Tuesday’s election results are a vindication for media strategists who have long argued that maintaining positive press relations is still the best path to electoral success.”

“That’s not to say that an anti-media campaign strategy can’t work. It can, and it did for a handful of candidates. But the high-wire tactic tends to be horribly overused, unnecessarily crippling otherwise viable candidates.”

October 4, 2010 — CBSNews.com: We commented on Christine O’Donnell’s new political ad, in which she proudly proclaimed, “I’m not a witch.” Writer Dan Farber wrote:

“By issuing her ‘I am not a witch’ denial quote, she has now entered that phrase into the political lexicon, along with other infamous denials,” media consultant Brad Phillips said. Among those famous phrases are President Nixon’s “I am not a crook,” and President Clinton’s “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

“Spokespersons should almost never use the language of denial, and should turn their statements into positive ones instead,” Phillips said.

September 2, 2010 — Huffington Post: When Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer went blank during a political debate, the Huffington Post’s Jason Linkins included our work in his story:

Ms. Brewer’s gaffe is reminiscent of one made by Jeanine Pirro, a candidate who briefly ran for Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat in 2005. From New York Magazine:

Her most humiliating moment came right at the beginning, during her announcement: the now-famous 32 seconds of silence when she tried to find a misplaced page in her speech. It was the kind of horrifying who-am-I-and-why-am-I-here mishap that anyone who speaks in public has nightmares about. Suddenly, Pirro became a punch line.

Will Gov. Brewer become a punch line now? Yes, at least for a few days. The bigger question is whether it will irrevocably damage her political career (as it did for Ms. Pirro), or whether she will be able to recover. She can start helping her chances by immediately displaying a sense of humor about the gaffe.

September 2010 — The Scientist (Magazine): Brad Phillips was quoted in an article called, “Why Trust a Reporter? What science writers are looking for and why it behooves you to answer their calls.”

“Brad Phillips, an alum of ABC News and CNN, has posted an interesting study on his Mr. Media Training site, rating 18 potential Republican challengers to Barack Obama in 2012 based on their effectiveness communicating in front of the camera. It’s a mighty subjective study, based on reviewing video of TV interviews. Rubio earns a solid A, compared to A- for Haley Barbour and Mike Huckabee, B for John Thune, B-for Jeb Bush and C + for Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint.”

In a story titled, “Marco Rubio Rated Best Potential Republican Presidential Candidate Based on Communication Skills,” Kyle Munzenrieder of the Miami New Times wrote:

“There’s already at least one online moment hoping to draft Marco Rubio to run for President in 2012. Those supporters might not be completely insane. An analysis by former ABC News journalist and media professional Brad Phillips rates Rubio the best communicator of all potential Republican candidates. He got an “A” overall. The only other candidate to receive an “A”? Current President Barrack Obama, well Obama circa October 2008. Yep, Rubio is apparently a better communicator than present-day Obama.”

“President Barack Obama may be an excellent communicator but he faces a serious challenge in that department from incoming U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, argued a prominent communications expert on Wednesday.”

“Maintaining that the best communicator has prevailed in every presidential election since 1980, Brad Phillips released a study Wednesday looking at the communication skills of Obama and 18 possible Republican opponents, including Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush. Phillips, a former journalist with CNN and ABC News, is the founder of Phillips Media Relations, a firm specializing in communications training, and is a prominent blogger.“

Public Speaking Resources

Recommended Reading

Archives

Categories

About Mr. Media Training

The Mr. Media Training Blog offers daily tips to help readers become better media spokespersons and public speakers. It also examines how well (or poorly) public figures are communicating through the media.

Brad Phillips is the Founder and Managing Editor of the Mr. Media Training Blog. He is the president of Phillips Media Relations, a media and presentation training firm with offices in NYC and DC.

Before founding Phillips Media Relations in 2004, Brad worked as a journalist with ABC's Nightline with Ted Koppel and CNN's Reliable Sources and The Capital Gang.

Brad tweets at @MrMediaTraining.

Christina Mozaffari is the Senior Writer for the Mr. Media Training Blog. She is the Washington, D.C. vice president for Phillips Media Relations.

Before joining Phillips Media Relations in 2011, Christina worked as a journalist with NBC News, where she produced stories for MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, NBC Nightly News, and The Today Show.